NEWS

Tuesday 21st November 2017

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Institute news

Student Design Challenge

DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCED AS WINNERS OF BIID STUDENT DESIGN CHALLENGE 2017

The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) is pleased to
announce that the team from De Montfort University has been awarded first place
at the BIID Student Design Challenge 2017. Open exclusively to final year Interior Design
and Architecture students from across the UK, the Student Design Challenge returned
for its third successful year. The one day competition took place on Saturday 18th
November at the impressive showroom of furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, in
central London. Designed to foster creative ideas and teamwork skills, the
Student Design Challenge offers an invaluable experience for students looking
to progress further in a design career.

Nominated by their course directors, six students each from eight
Interior Design and Interior Architecture courses across the UK were invited to
take part in the event. The teams taking part in the challenge this year
included students from the University of Bedfordshire, Lincoln University,
Anglia Ruskin University, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Dundee, De
Montfort University, Ulster University and the University of Hertfordshire. The design brief was revealed on the day, and teams had just
six hours to develop a design proposal before presenting to the panel of
judges. Students were asked to consider a ‘Hub for the Third Age’; a new type
of public space that could accommodate older people looking for employment
opportunities. The competing teams were challenged to redesign a space to perform
three main functions; to act as a job centre assisting older people returning
to the workforce, to create a social space for networking and as a classroom to
improve digital and technical skills.

Each team was assigned a BIID mentor, a professional practising
interior designer, to offer advice and feedback throughout the challenge. The mentors this year included BIID Council
Director Matthew Freeman, BIID Past President Diana Yakeley OBE, as well as
BIID members Sara Corker, Lester Bennet, May Fawzy, Gwendoline Alderton, Yentl
Flo and MC and Student Director of the BIID Lindsey Rendall. The CAD-free competition meant that students could only present
hand-drawn sketches, drawings and models as part of their proposals. This year,
BIID President Charles Leon led the judging panel, accompanied by Bertie Van
Wyk, Workplace Specialist at Herman Miller; Maureen Whyberd, Senior Community
Development Manager at Open Age and Frances Judge an active member of the Open
Age community.

The judges were looking for the design that met the brief in
the most creative and original way, demonstrating impressive problem solving
and collaborative teamwork skills. After reviewing each proposal, the judges
cast their winning votes, awarding De Montfort University as the winner. The
judges felt that this particular proposal carefully considered the brief, the
needs of the end-users as well as the existing space, and delivered an
innovative design solution. University of Dundee and the University of Lincoln
took joint second place.

Charles Leon, President of the BIID, comments: “The standard of
professionalism and creativity from the students was incredibly impressive this
year. The BIID aims to create a strong creative community and is particularly
committed to supporting designers starting out on their professional journey. The
Student Design Challenge is a great way to see this in action. We hope that the
competition has inspired participants and given them a memorable and useful
experience. The BIID would like to congratulate the winning team and to thank
Herman Miller for generously hosting the event.”